Top 10 Ways to Lead an American Renaissance

by Stephen Palmer

America is at a crossroads, a momentous point in history infinitely more critical than anything Rome, Greece, or the ancient Israelites ever faced because of how much our decisions impact the rest of humanity.

However, Americans can and will conquer any challenge, no matter how difficult or even if it is self-imposed. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, "It is a part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate, to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance."
With this in mind, here are the ten most important things that average Americans can do to ensure that our current decline doesn't engulf us and last interminably.

10. Read at least one classic a month.
According to George Wythe College, "Classics are original works of depth and substance--writing, painting, sculpture, philosophy, music, theory, law, etc.--that engage the student in the great questions of life. Works that have wide application and scope, they offer valuable ideas to a variety of cultures and times, and can be applied to nations as well as communities, families and individuals. These timeless works change us and ask the hard questions that cut to the core of human nature and human institutions."
Study the nature and anatomy of freedom through classics. Learn what it takes to preserve and promote freedom for yourself and your posterity.

9. Discuss the classics you read with groups of your peers on a regular basis.
Similar groups were formed long before the American Revolution erupted, and they had an integral role in shaping the views and direction of the entire populace. As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

8. Keep entertainment in proper perspective.
We're flooded with an infinite variety of ways to divert us from our highest potential and purpose. When entertainment becomes excessive, it prevents us from living the ideals necessary to sustain freedom.

7. Raise a family worth emulating.
Love and serve your family. Be true to your spouse, be kind and inspiring to and patient with your children. Take responsibility for the education of your children. Build America from the inside out with the solid bricks of family values and relationships.

6. Forgive those who have wronged you.
World peace will never be achieved until individuals become conscious of their own contribution to or detraction from that goal.

5. Be a person of integrity.
Keep your word, no matter how difficult, no matter how tempting it may be to follow the crowd and become casual. Do what you say you will do. Live what you say you believe.

4. Be vigilant about how you spend your private time.
The ultimate measure of a person's integrity is how they act when they are absolutely alone, and what they do when no one else will ever know. It is the quiet moments spent in solitude that determine if you are true to what you say you believe in.

3. Become a constitutional scholar.
Know the Constitution backward and forward. Study its foundations. Study the works that its creators read. Learn what habeas corpus, bills of attainder, and ex post facto laws are. Learn what the different branches of government are authorized to do, and prohibited from doing. Know the intended balance between the States and the Federal Government.

2. Live your mission.
Discover, develop, and utilize your natural gifts and abilities. Do what you were born to do, even if it takes quitting your current job. Live the spirit of providence in your life. In the words of Steve Farber, "Do what you love in the service of those who love what you do."
And the number one way to lead an American Renaissance is...

1. Become "One Who Goes Before."
Remember your heritage and follow the example of those who have gone before to pave the way for us. Pay them back by paying the debt forward and preparing the way for your posterity to follow you.

About the Author
Stephen Palmer is a writer, entrepreneur, teacher, and scholar on a mission to lead a renaissance in American culture and move the Cause of Liberty in the 21st Century. For more information and to contact him, visit The Cause of Liberty.